[Connect] Keep Spotify Connect available for B&O devices

Today I have learned from Spotify support that they have removed Spotify Connect availability for B&O devices, such as my BeoPlay A9 mk1. This is due to business decisions made by Spotify and B&O and will affect all B&O devices.

I have invested in an expensive speaker and payed Spotify its monthly fee for over the past years and am stumped this decision has been made so I would love them to bring back that functionality. 100 votes seem to be enough to get this under their attention so please vote....

What? I have been Premium subscriber for many years, and now Spotify is just telling me to get lost? Talk about kicking one´s customers in the teeth. What is the matter with this company?

I originally preferred WIMP, and only switched to Spotify because of the Beoplay. If this issue is not fixed, and I have to work around it using a chromecast or something, I´ll be kicking Spotify straight out and go back to Tidal.

What? I have been Premium subscriber for many years, and now Spotify is just telling me to get lost? Talk about kicking one´s customers in the teeth. What is the matter with this company?

I originally preferred WIMP, and only switched to Spotify because of the Beoplay. If this issue is not fixed, and I have to work around it using a chromecast or something, I´ll be kicking Spotify straight out and go back to Tidal.

Hi, it's not only the A9, but also the Essence MK 1. I heared, that there have been some customized Connect functions and the "normal" Connect. And now Spotify disconnected the Customized, for what reasons ever. (License, technics ??) In case of my Yamaha AVR Receiver I got an SW Update and the Connect function returned. So I hope (I voted for) the function will return to the disconnected B&O's from the Spotify Side. For me, now the Chromecast audio works fine streaming spotify connect via Line-In of the essence and I can control it by voice with the Home mini.

So I hope, B&O will place an SW Update to the corresponding devices.

Hi, it's not only the A9, but also the Essence MK 1. I heared, that there have been some customized Connect functions and the "normal" Connect. And now Spotify disconnected the Customized, for what reasons ever. (License, technics ??) In case of my Yamaha AVR Receiver I got an SW Update and the Connect function returned. So I hope (I voted for) the function will return to the disconnected B&O's from the Spotify Side. For me, now the Chromecast audio works fine streaming spotify connect via Line-In of the essence and I can control it by voice with the Home mini.

I have been a loyal Spotify paid user since 2011. This decision to remove the connect support will unquestionably make me switch to Tidal or some other streaming provider. I really question whether it is a good idea to remove backwardcompatibility on products that's only 2-3 years old. It signals that the lifetime for wifi-connected systems is way shorter than the actual hardware should suggest. This probably deters people from buying high-end wifi-audio products, which again results in fewer premium subscribers for Spotify. Bye bye spotify!

I have been a loyal Spotify paid user since 2011. This decision to remove the connect support will unquestionably make me switch to Tidal or some other streaming provider. I really question whether it is a good idea to remove backwardcompatibility on products that's only 2-3 years old. It signals that the lifetime for wifi-connected systems is way shorter than the actual hardware should suggest. This probably deters people from buying high-end wifi-audio products, which again results in fewer premium subscribers for Spotify. Bye bye spotify!

Hi received this message from B&O customer support on their official Facebook page regarding a coming firmware update for Beoplay A9 MK1: "Hi Gabriele, we appreciate your patience while we looked into this for you. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding earlier in this case. The manual software update can only be done for A9 Mk2, not A9 1st gen. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. We are actively working towards creating a new update that should resolve the WiFi stability issues and hope to be able to release that soon. Again, we appreciate your patience."

Hi received this message from B&O customer support on their official Facebook page regarding a coming firmware update for Beoplay A9 MK1: "Hi Gabriele, we appreciate your patience while we looked into this for you. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding earlier in this case. The manual software update can only be done for A9 Mk2, not A9 1st gen. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. We are actively working towards creating a new update that should resolve the WiFi stability issues and hope to be able to release that soon. Again, we appreciate your patience."